Within the cabin of a passenger aircraft, general overhead lighting illuminates the cabin during boarding and deboarding. However, the general cabin lights are often dimmed during flight, for passenger comfort, especially during night-time flights, which can result in the cabin floor and aisles being too dark for quick, easy, safe, and comfortable movement about the cabin during the flight. Additionally, galleys, lavatories, and other areas of the aircraft are typically illuminated throughout the flight, which further increases the difficulty for flight attendants (and passengers moving about the aircraft), who must adapt when entering a relatively dark cabin from the bright galley area, for instance. While passengers typically have access to individual overhead reading lights that focus light for individual use, these reading lights can create shadows in the aisles, even further interfering with vision of the aisles and objects protruding therein.
This lighting scenario can complicate the work of flight attendants, who perform job duties in a unique environment that includes reduced atmospheric pressure, low humidity, relatively high noise levels, air turbulence, tight spaces, and sloping floors. Adding low light levels to this environment makes tasks even more difficult for flight attendants, increasing the risks of injuries as they move through the cabin performing work duties. For example, tripping on carpet, carpet edges, seat legs, passenger legs, blankets, pillows, luggage, coats, purses, toys, and etc. all are potential hazards in flight attendants' workspace (e.g., the cabin aisle(s)) and is often caused by their not being able to see the floor sufficiently. Such hazards can result in work-related injuries and lost workdays.
Existing emergency lighting such as photoluminescent strips along the floor path of the cabin and emergency seat lighting provide insufficient lighting to prevent tripping and slipping, inconsistently light the floor, and/or direct light in the wrong direction(s) (e.g., upwards, towards the ceiling) to prevent injuries for flight attendants in the normal course of their work tasks. Existing aircraft non-emergency lighting is not suitable for illuminating the floor without disturbing passengers, and there thus remains a need for reducing the risk from hazards in aircraft cabin aisles and other interior spaces, without disturbing passengers.